A Cumblerland Township resident is prohibited from owning guns, according to the district attorney's office

A Cumberland Township man is seeking to have 75 guns returned to him through a civil suit filed in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas.

But William Lloyd Walter, 62, is prohibited from possessing firearms pursuant to federal law, if not both Pennsylvania and federal law, according to the Adams County District Attorney's Office.

The Adams County Sheriff's Department confiscated the guns from Walter two years ago as part of a domestic violence protection order filed against him in August 2012 in Monongalia County, West Virginia, according to court documents. The order expired Jan. 29, 2013, court documents state.

Officials denied the release of Walter's guns in June 2013 after a Pennsylvania State Police background check determined he was ineligible to have them.

Walter's legal counsel, Gettysburg attorney Barbara Jo Entwistle, maintains in Walter's petition that since a period of 10 years has elapsed since his most recent conviction, he should have his firearm rights restored.

In October 1975, Walter was found guilty of breaking and entering while on probation in Maryland, according to Renata Seergae, public information spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Walter was sentenced to seven years in jail, but was released from prison in February 1979, Seergae said.

Walter filed suit against Adams County in May, two months after the sheriff's department moved to have the guns destroyed. In his petition, he maintained that he has had no further criminal convictions or incarcerations since he was released from Maryland prison in 1979.

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In his response to the petition, Adams County Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr denied most of Walter's assertions and brought forth a new matter — Walter could have been in violation of state gun laws for previously possessing the guns.

Convicted felons are prohibited from possessing firearms under provisions of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, according to information supplied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The sheriff's department is holding the weapons until the court decides what to do with the guns, three of which were stolen from other states according to a National Crime Information Center investigation, said Len Supenski, chief deputy for the Adams County Sheriff's Department.

An evidentiary hearing on the matter is scheduled next month in Adams County Court, according to a May 30 order filed by Adams County Judge Thomas Campbell.

Even though demolishing the guns could be considered by the court, the commonwealth is opposed to the weapons being destroyed since they may be evidence of criminal offenses, Barr wrote in his response.

Attempts to reach Entwistle and Walter were unsuccessful.

Mark Walters covers Adams County for The Evening Sun. Contact him at 717-637-3736 ext. 147.